Yoga and Running: The Perfect Combination for Weight Loss in 2024

Weight loss with "Runog"!

People always ask me what is the quickest and the easiest way to lose weight. I always tell them there are no shortcuts to weight loss goals. You can pick up any program in the market, commit to it, and over time you will lose weight. All programs have their own strengths and weakness. I wanted a holistic program that would not only lose weight but holistically uplift the practitioner. I did not need to go far as I had it right in front of me. I call it “The Runog Program”. This has a lot of advantages over others as it brings about synchronicity and balance of the mind, body, and spirit.

Why Runog?

Runog comes from two words, namely run or running and yog or yoga. The two together make a potent combination. Running can help lose weight fast and yoga can tone the muscles and take care of cramps and strains. I love running in the morning breathing the fresh air and have been practicing and teaching yoga for two decades. Due to life situations I started to gain weight and it was affecting my yoga practice. So, in order to lose weight quickly I started running for quick weight loss. I started with a 1 km run in the first week. In the second week, I was running 3 km and by the third week I crossed the 5 km mark. Every day after the run, a 45 minute yoga session made me feel wonderful. All aches, pains, and strains due to running vanished post this yoga session. Moreover, it made me feel very light. Post 1 month mark, I started to feel healthy again. So, I realized a combination of these two disciplines was the answer to being healthy and ultimately losing weight. I have never looked back since. Somewhere down the line I moved into barefoot running.

Giving up my shoes:

India and Indians are not new to barefoot running. Our ancestors have run barefoot in the jungles since time immemorial. Sports personnel in the 40s were running barefoot except when participating in professional competitions where sponsorship spoiled them for choice. In high school, I would run a 100 m dash barefoot but only because I did not have spikes. Slowly, barefoot running was forgotten and expensive, technologically advanced shoes were the rage of the day. They created more problems than they solved till someone realized it was better to run barefoot and that we already have the best shoes. I too was bitten by the barefoot bug. I ran barefoot in the 40 degree summer heat and also cold winter mornings. After a year of running barefoot, I realized my feet were in far better shape than they have ever been. Thus, you can start running barefoot or with your shoes on and you will not be disappointed.

Running for weight loss can be addictive:

Running is an amazing exercise and fun too. You can wear shoes or go barefoot or alternatively use both. You can go places and enjoy life. Once you start running, you will experience what is called the runner’s high. The brain secretes a hormone called endorphin (similar to morphine), which gives a sort of a high and runners get hooked just do not want to stop running. Losing weight is a byproduct of running. But people do not take up running as they think it will ruin their knees. This myth has been busted by one Mr. Fauja singh who is 100 years plus old. He has shown the world that there is no upper age limit to start running. Mr. Fauja Singh took up running at the age of 80 when he shifted to the United Kingdom. He used to run the 26-mile marathon till he was 100 years old and now he runs only the half marathon. He is a living legend. So, running is definitely the quickest, cheapest way for quick weight loss. To this if you add a yoga routine it could be the best program for you.

The Yogic component:

Yoga has been practiced in India for more than 3000 years. The yogasanas have been refined, tweaked by generation of learned sages of the east. A word of caution about Yoga, though. The asanas are not to be treated like exercises as they are not exercises. The breathing, i.e. inhalation, exhalation, and/or retention during an asana or pranayam is extremely important and should be performed as per the instructions. This breath regulation is what differentiates asanas from exercises. Moreover, there are no sudden movements. Asanas are performed gradually. There are no repetitions. Muscles are slowly contracted or relaxed for a period of time. Consequently, the effect of asanas as compared to exercises is far deeper. It is said that regular practice of yoga has a positive effect at the cellular level but exercises affect only the muscular level. Yoga brings flexibility and is so designed that even an 80 year old can start a yoga practice and with time he/she will become relatively flexible and healthy again.

Moreover, yogasanas are postures that relax the body instead of tiring it. I have personally experienced this. When I do my yoga routine two times a day, I feel relaxed and energized. It is absolutely refreshing and devoid of any tiredness that is associated with other physical activities. My yogasana sessions post running do the same. It is a yoga session especially designed for full body joint movement, leg muscles stretches, back exercises and core workout. I use the out-to-in approach. So, I start with the extremities followed by back bending and then forward bending exercising the entire body from extremities towards the stomach.

A great way to take care of muscle imbalances:

Yoga is about balance, synchronicity, and harmony. Every asana has a counter pose to make sure the muscles are balanced. Runners are not new to muscle imbalances. Run a long one and you might end up with aches, pains, and imbalances. Runners experience tightness everyday and then there is muscle soreness after long runs. If you practice yoga post runs everyday, by contraction and relaxation of the muscles you can help them realx and also correct any muscle imbalances that may have occurred during a run. For e.g., my post run asana list contains asanas especially to work up my quadriceps and hamstrings. these help to relax them and recover for the next day run.

Build Strength with yogasanas:

You can make your yogasans easy or tough. Do it for 30 seconds and it may be easy for you, try to move past the 3-minute mark and you will realize it is not that easy. So, regular practice and that too for a minimum of 2 minutes can help build strength. With stregnth comes better balance. What does that mean for runners? They can run farther and at better speeds. One more reason to call it a killer combination for weight loss. More running at higher speeds more calories spent and so you will lose weight faster.

Helps with flexibility:

Runners are no stranger to muscle tightness. Post run, everyday muscles tend to become tight. Most runners perform yoga postures on non-running days, but I perfer yogasanas every day after a run. So, you work on your hamstrings, quads, Achilles, calves, IT band, etc. by practising asanas specifically targetting these muscles, they remain flexible. This is the best way to avoid injury.

So, running is the active component whereas yog is the subtle passive component. Both bring in strength, flexibility, vitality, boost morale, and balance the body, mind, and spirit. Thus, the “Runog program” can be a great way to stay healthy, lose weight, improve concentration and more importantly avoid injury.

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